Art Plante, who lost his job as Minnesota division president of K. Hovnanian Homes when the company downsized in 2011 due to the recession, has started a new home building company.

The firm is named John Arthur Homes and its first project is a 14-home development called Highlands at Lakeside, located adjacent to Bearpath Golf & Country Club in Chanhassen.

The houses are single-level with more than 3,200 square feet and start in the $500,000 price range, Plante said. Highlands at Lakeside also includes a clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool and private lakeshore access to Lake Riley.

Plante said he expects to sell his first home at Lakeside this fall.

“I have been considering the idea for some time,” Plante said in an e-mail. “With the market continuing to show signs of improvement and interest rates at historically low levels, combined with the improving economy, I felt the time was right.”

Plante was president of the Minnesota division of Lombard, Ill.-based Town and Country Homes Inc. for about eight years when it was bought in 2005 by Red Bank, N.J.-based Hovnanian Enterprises, the parent of K. Hovnanian. The two companies operated separately for about a year, with Plante leading the Town and Country Homes brand in the Twin Cities. When the brands merged in 2006 under the K. Hovnanian name, Plante took over the leadership of the 130-employee Twin Cities office.

He said he has overseen the sales and construction of more than 5,000 homes in 40 communities in the Twin Cities over the past 15 years.